Butterfly Garden Signs Suggestions

[Mary H. Shepherd]

My request for ideas on how to word  ‘please don’t pick the (wild)
flowers’ signs for a newly renovated and expanded butterfly garden in a
rural coastal mountain park and for the park itself received the
following responses and suggestions.   Several of you, who answered me
personally, requested I post the responses to the list(s).  So, here
goes.
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Yes, flower-pickers are a definite problem. Especially wee children who
look at you with terribly sad eyes after they've already pulled up even
a whole plant attempting to pick a flower. Even schoolteachers
apparently
think sometimes that each child should be able to take a handful of
flowers
home.

So, yes, the concept requires many reminders.

Christina Mild, Harlingen, TX
M.S. Biological Sciences
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They could say something like: Please leave our wildflowers where they
are growing, so others can enjoy them too, and so they will bloom again
next year.
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I will be the gladdest thing under the sun.
I will touch a hundred flowers
and pick not one.
Edna St Vincent Millay

My variation in the school garden is:
I will be the gladdest thing under the sun
My eyes will touch a hundred flowers
But I will pick not one.

Joanna Rivera
Texas Butterfly Festival
Texas Butterfly Club NABA
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"Flowers are a fragile beauty for us ,
but for feathered, fluttering friends,
they're food!"

What surprises me is that people would pick the flowers to
begin with. Has this been a problem in the past?
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I have always appreciated the old standard:

"Please Take Nothing but Pictures,
Leave Nothing but Footprints."

For compactness, you could substitute "Only" for "Nothing but."  The
point is intuitive enough that the good folks are appropriately
reminded. The violators will violate anyway.
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How about the symbol of a flower inside a circle with a slash through
the circle. I see this symbol used very effectively in many different
situations.  I feel that it is a very effective message, but without
threatening words.
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We have signs in our wildflower and butterfly gardens that say
 "Please leave the flowers for the birds and butterflies"

p.s.  I know what you mean about negative signage  --  seems unfriendly.

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How about:
Please leave the flowers for the butterflies?
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please don't pick me
so i can please anew
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How about:
Please leave flowers for others to enjoy.
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How about "Pick the flowers and I'll kick your butt"

Seriously - "Flowers are your oxygen - don't cut them off"
 works well here.
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How about...
Don't pick the flowers, please...Leave them for others to enjoy.
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How about something like
"Let Butterflies not people pick the wildflowers"
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I think I would say something like "Please don't pick or damage the
flowers, the butterflies and hummingbirds really need them.  Thank you."

I think that is positive and polite and explains why.
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Please don't pick the flowers, it damages the butterfly habitat.
       ---, the butterflies need them for food.
       ---, others (and the butterflies!) would like to see them too.
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Please don't disturb our flora and fauna, so that others may enjoy them
as well.
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Here in Switzerland, they have signs in their four native languages:
German, French, Italian, and Romanch, but since they have folks visiting
from all over the world, they also have on the same sign, a drawing of a
hand reaching for a flower with a slash through it which is the
universally understood sign for "NO"
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These flowers are being used by butterflies -- please leave them to
bloom right where they are!
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The Wildflower Center has signs that say something like "You're feet
are killing me" in large letters, and then beneath it says
"Please stay on the trail".

That doesn't help about not picking the flowers, but it's pretty cute
and kinda gets the message across.
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I have yet to decide what wording to utilize; so many good ideas.  Maybe
I'll try several.  No reason they all have to be the same.

Thank you to all of you who took the time to share your ideas and
experiences. I appreciate your interest and your good wishes for
success! Thanks especially to all you proactive Texans out there.

For those of you in the Southern California area, the park is Charmlee
Natural Area and is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area.  The Los Angeles Chapter of NABA has recently taken
over primary responsibility for expanding and maintaining the butterfly
garden as a chapter project in cooperation with the Charmlee Docents.
The emphasis, of course, is going to be on native plants and their
relationship to butterflies.   Many thanks, Mary